Visa rules for Chinese 'cost Britain £5m a day'

Visa rules for Chinese people visiting are "colonial" and costing
Britain "£4m-£5m a day", said Simon Thomas, chief
executive of the Hippodrome Casino in London's West End.

Simon Thomas, chief executive of London's Hippodrome Casino, said Chinese tourists can fill out a relatively simple form to get a Schengen visa for 26 EU countries, yet have an complicated process to get a UK visa.Photo: Paul Grover

"The current visa system is bureaucratic madness," he told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.

"Chinese tourists can fill out a relatively simple form to get a Schengen visa for 26 European countries, yet have an incredibly complicated process to get a UK visa, so many of them don't bother," Mr Thomas said.

London's Hippodrome Casino opened in July 2012 following a multi-million pound refit. Speaking at the casino's opening, the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said he expected it to "attract high-rollers in tuxedos from around the planet" who would pump "significant quantities of foreign currency into London."

Chinese are avid gamblers and in 2006 the Chinese territory of Macau overtook Las Vegas as the world's most lucrative gambling market.

But Mr Thomas said Britain's outdated visa rules meant it was missing out.

"It's a competitive world and we need to compete. The UK had 180,000 Chinese tourists last year. France had well over a million," he said.

"I believe the British government has an outdated view of Chinese visitors, perhaps rooted in colonial times. They wrongly fear many Chinese will overstay. We have to respect our borders, but such unfounded fears are harming the UK economy."

Mr Thomas is the latest in a series of prominent business people to speak out against how they believe the Home Office's visa system is putting off potential Chinese guests.

In January, The Daily Telegraph launched a campaign, calling on the Government to simplify visa rules for Chinese visitors in order to boost economic growth. The UK China Visa Alliance, a lobbying group made up of retailers hoping to force change, has claimed the rules are costing Britain around £1.2 billion each year.

In April, Theresa May reportedly told cabinet members that Chinese applicants would be offered a "faster service" and a series of changes have been unveiled including a VIP visa service, allowing applicants to keep their passports while their visas are processed and plans for an application form in Chinese.

However, the Home Office has insisted it will not join the Schengen system which it argues would cause Britain to "lose control" of its borders.